Agri-food and Land Use updated 24/9/09
David Keir Building
Queen’s University
Professional Studies
ALU3012
Module handbook
0910
Module co-ordinator: Dr Karen King
01/330, DKB./MBC108
E-mail:
Careers Advisor:
Mark Gallagher
Careers, Employability and skills,
E-mail: m.gallagher @qub.ac.uk
This module is only available to students registered in the School of Biological Sciences
1. Course content:
1. Pre-placement preparation including, the selection of placement, application forms, CV's and interviews. Evaluation of placement by student, including potential to relate academic theory to the work place and skills development
2. On Placement work including relating academic theory to the workplace, recording activities and reflection in a log book.
3. Post placement reflection of learning and career prospects.
2. Contact hours:
Stage 2 – prior to placement
Tutorials – will be held on Mondays from 10-11am in DKBLG 111during the first and second semesters as indicated in the timetable below.
Compulsory sessions must be attended by all students. During second semester there are 2 compulsory 3 and 2 hours workshop which all students must attend. Other sessions where placement hosts give talks are optional. You should attend those related to your interests/subject area.
This programme is preliminary and is likely to change as speakers are identified. The programme will be regularly updated as speakers become available and you must check this on QOL. These may take place at other times including 11-12 on Mondays as indicated below.
This programme is preliminary and the programme order may change as speakers are identified and confirm. The programme will be regularly updated as speakers become available and you must check this on QOL .
First semester
1 / SEP 28TH (10-11)OCT 1ST (10-11)
OCT 2ND(1.30-2.30) / Introduction to the module (Compulsory)
FQSN and LUEM students
BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
ELTC Seminar Room 2
Greenmount / 1
1
1
2 / OCT 5TH
OCT 8TH
OCT 6TH (10-12)
OCT 8TH (11-1) / Q/A session – How am I going to secure placement?
FQSN and LUEM
BS
CV/cover letter Workshop Compulsory
LUEM
FQSN / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111
ELTC Seminar Room 2
MBC TR1
ELTC Independent Study Room 1 / 1
1
2
2
3 / OCT 12TH
10– 11
OCT 14TH 10.30-12.30
OCT 15
10.00-11.00 / Student Placement Presentations :
FQSN
LUEM
CV / Cover letter Compulsory
AT
BS 1 / Year 3 students
Year 3 students
Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111
Guidance Centre
Greenmount
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 1
1
2
1
4 / OCT 19TH
11.00- 12.00
10 – 11
OCT 22ND 10-11 / EMPLOYER WEEK 1
FQSN - Food industry NI
LUEM - Overview of Environmental sector
CV/ Cover letter Compulsory
BS 2 / Invest NI
NI Environment Link
Mark Gallagher / ASH 34
Guidance Centre
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 1
1
1
5 / OCT 26TH
11.00 -12.00
10.00 – 11.00 / EMPLOYER WEEK 2
Working as a Dietitian - (FQSN)
Working as an Environmental Consultant / EIA’s. LUEM / Alison Cowen
RPS Group / ASH34
Guidance Centre / 1
6 / WED NOV 4TH
2-5 / FQSN - Looking for Placement workshop / Mark Gallagher / PFC 307 (2.00 – 5.00) / 2/3 hours
7 / WED NOV 11Th 2-5
THURS 12TH / LUEM – Looking for Work Placement workshop
BS - Online Applications and Employability Skills. / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher / PFC 307 (2.00 – 5.00)
ELTC Seminar Room 2 / 2/3 hours
1
8 / NOV 16TH
10 –11 / FQSN/ LUEM Online Applications and Employability Skills . / Mark Gallagher / DKB LG111 / 1
9 / NOV 23RD
11.00-12.00
10–11
NOV24th 9.30/11.30 / EMPLOYER WEEK 3
FQSN - Roles within a Food Business
LUEM – Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001)
AT Interview Skills / Approaching employers / Kerry Group
ARENA Network
Mark Gallagher / ASH34
Guidance Centre
Greenmount / 1
1
2
10 / NOV 30TH
11.00 -12.00
10.00 – 11.00 / EMPLOYER WEEK 4
FQSN Trends within the Retail sector
LUEM – Areas of outstanding Natural beauty in NI and placement roles / Sainsburys
Lagan Valley / Causeway Coast AONBS / ASH34
Guidance Centre / 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Timetable cont:
11 / DEC 7TH 10-11DEC 10TH 10-11
DEC10TH
9.30-1030 / Interview skills Compulsory
FQSN/LUEM
BS
Work Placement Documentation
Compulsory
AT / Mark Gallagher
Mark Gallagher
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
MBC 202
Greenmount / 1
1
1
12 / DEC 14TH 10-11
DEC 17TH 10-11 / Work Placement Documentation Compulsory
FQSN and LUEM
BS / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / DKB LG111
TBC / 1
1
Second Semester
WK / DATE / TIME / SESSION TOPIC / DELIVERED BY / LOCATION / TIME1 / Feb 1st
TBC
TBC / Work Placement next steps compulsory
FQSN and LUEM
BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / ASH 612
TBC
Greenmount / 1
2 / Feb 8th / FQSN and LUEM
Project and Ethics / Dr Brian Green / Prof
George Hutchinson / ASH 612 + TBC / 1
3 / Feb 15th / A Career in Teaching
FQSN, LUEM and BS / Mark Gallagher / ASH 612 / 1
4 / Week starting 22nd / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 1
FQSN and LUEM / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC / 3
5 / Week starting 29nd
TBC / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 1
BS
AT / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC
Greenmount / 2
6 / Week starting March 1st / Queens Employability and Skills Workshop 2
FQSN and LUEM
BS / Mark Gallagher / Careers service / TBC
TBC / 2
7 / March 8th / Health and safety Compulsory
FQSN, LUEM and BS / Julie McConkey / ASH 612 / 1
8 / March 15th
TBC / Work experience Documentation
Compulsory
FQSN, LUEM and BS
AT / Dr Karen King
Dr Karen King / ASH 612
Greenmount / 1
Stage 3 – following placement
Tutorials will be held in a 1 hour block on Tuesday mornings 9-10 am in room PFC 210 during the weeks 1 to 4 as described below.
Week / Topic / Lecturer / Hours1 / Introduction to module. / Dr Karen King / 1
2 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
3 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
4 / Help with Placement portfolio / Dr Karen King / 1
9
Friday / Presentation
[PHY/BELL LT] / Dr K King and
City and Guilds / 4
9am -1pm
Students should also the project module sessions for their degree during final year.
You will be registered for the module during your second year and your placement year with the mark being attributed to the module in your placement year.
Students must complete at least 1610 hours ( i.e. 46 weeks x 35hours) of work placement. Students not completing the required hours will have their placement portfolio mark reduced proportionately.
All students are responsible for attaining their work placement.
The work undertaken must be a ’job of work’ not just project work. However, the ‘job of work’ must include the opportunity for students to develop higher level skills development [problem solving, evaluation, idea creation etc.] as would be appropriate for an Honours degree placement such as project management/ personnel management through work such as project management/ personnel management.
Students must also undertake a substantial project which will be equivalent to their Honours project.
All templates referred to below are available from QOL.
i. Assistance in securing a placement:
Sessions on CV’s, covering letters and interview techniques will be held in first semester by staff from Careers, Employability and Skills. First impressions are very important in securing a placement and these sessions are to help with these key aspects.
The initial impression you create through your CV, Cover letter and in person at interview are very important to your potential placement employer, and these sessions will help you create that positive impact.
The Careers Advisor, Mark Gallagher, will assist students seeking placements and will seek placement opportunities. Opportunities for placements will be posted on QOL.
A list of work placement sources and additional information will also be made available through QOL.
Students will also be able to avail of individual interviews with Mark Gallagher to discuss their placement. These are planned for late in first semester and during second semester as required.
ii. Application stage:
During the application stage, students should keep a record of their applications using Template 1 ( available on QOL) and submit this to QOL. This enables the placement team to monitor the types of placement students are seeking and their progress towards securing a placement.
Students are encouraged to seek their own placements. These must be approved by Dr King before you start the placement.
It is advised that students commence the application stage as early as possible in the academic year to help secure employment. Many of the larger employers will close their programmes early in the year and the process is a competitive one.
The procedure for approval is described in Appendix 1.
It is a requirement that students engage fully in the placement process, make an appropriate number of applications and of an appropriate quality.
iii. Pre-placement submission:
Once a placement is secured and approved, students should complete their pre- placement submission, described in Appendix 2, and submit it via QOL.
The pre-placement submission is worth 10% of the module mark.
iv. Prior to departure pack:
Prior to departure on placement, students should collect a pack of forms/information from the School Office in the MBC. Some of the forms in the pack should be completed and returned ASAP to the office. Other forms need to be completed by the student whilst on placement. This pack is described in Appendix 3.
Students must make sure they complete and return these forms – if they are not the placement will not count and the university will not accept any liability for you whilst on placement.
v. During placement:
a. Weekly log book:
During the placement students must complete a weekly log book and submit it at the end of each week to QOL. An example log book sheet is given in Appendix 4. This is available from QOL. The placement team will use the log book submissions to ascertain how students are doing, whether they need any help and also to ensure students are doing appropriate work on which they can reflect on their learning.
You may decide after a number of weeks that a weekly log is too frequent and less frequent submissions will be acceptable.
b. Work based learning elements:
Additionally during the placement students will be required to submit 4 work based learning elements of max 1000 words on aspects of the organisation they are working for which are not directly related to their daily activities. More detail and acceptable topics are given in Appendix 5.
These must be submitted to QOL by the end of weeks 10, 20. 30 and 40 of the placement or pro rata for a more intensive placement. i.e after 350, 700,1050 and 1400 hours respectively.
c. Visits by staff and assessment:
During the placement you are likely to be visited twice by a member of staff who will ask your placement provider to give an assessment of your work and your employability skills.
You will also be asked to complete the same assessment as a self assessment. Details of the assessment and visit are given in Appendix 6.
vi. Completion of placement:
On completion of your placement you will be required to submit a placement portfolio and give a presentation. More detail of these are given in Appendix 7 and 8.
The placement portfolio and presentation will also be assessed for the City and Guilds Licentiateship award.
You should understand that this module is similar to any other academic module in that the pre-placement submission and WBL elements equate to coursework; the weekly log book to your module notes and the placement portfolio to the final submission/exam.
3. Learning outcomes of the module:
At the end of the module students will:
· have increased their ability to relate academic theory to the work environment:
· have developed identified work related skills:
· be able to critically evaluate their learning from the placement:
· have enhanced their career knowledge.
· have planned, carried out, evaluated and reported on a project.
4. Skills developed:
At the end of the module students will identify and evaluate the skills which they have developed during the placement which may include: communication (oral and written); problem-solving; team work; IT; presentational; personal development and reflection; organisational; time management as described in the Programme Specification and in the skills evaluation template completed as part of the pre-placement submission.
5. Compulsory elements:
Attendance at all compulsory preparation seminars. Submission of pre-placement submission, placement portfolio and delivery of presentation.
6. Assessment:
i. Pre-placement submission 10%
ii. Placement portfolio 50%
iii. Presentation 10%
iv. Project 30%
i. Pre-placement submission: (10%)